As we continue work on our final project of the semester, I've found myself wondering what it is we will actually accomplish by organizing a school compost. My family and I keep our own compost bin outside in our yard, but I've never really looked into the benefits of doing so. Today, I wanted to do some extra research and have a look at some composting facts and statistics. I already knew that composting turned food waste into something reusable, but I wanted to see some actual numbers. My first source was the Environmental Protection Agency's web page on reducing the impact of wasted food, and I was able to see these numbers pretty quickly. Apparently, Americans composted 2.6 million tons of food in 2018. After scrolling a little further, I was able to see some of the benefits of composting. Among other things, composting can reduce methane emissions, help aid reforestation, wetlands restoration, and habitat revitalization efforts, as well as help fix contaminated soil and polluted air and water. Compost can also provide carbon sequestration, which was a term new to me, so I looked it up. For the sake of anyone reading who doesn't know, carbon sequestration is the term used to describe the process in which carbon dioxide is taken from the atmosphere and stored away, and it is regarded as a method to reduce global warming. According to a web page from UCLA, there has been little research on how well compost carries out this process, but if it bears fruitful results it could provide not only environmental benefits, but financial benefits as well. Farmers would not be the only ones gaining financial benefits from composting. At the bottom of the EPA's webpage, they have a list of businesses and organizations that saved a lot of money from composting, ranging from 25 to 100 thousand dollars from 2005 to 2011. Composting has other economic benefits as well, and according to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, composting creates jobs. Manufacturing compost "employs 2x more than landfills and 4x more than incinerators." This difference increases even more when you include use of this compost for green infrastructure. In conclusion, composting has benefits on all sides, from reducing food waste and greenhouse gas to creating jobs and saving money, there's really something in it for everyone.
Works cited:
“Reducing the Impact of Wasted Food by Feeding the Soil and Composting.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 14 Apr. 2021, www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/reducing-impact-wasted-food-feeding-soil-and-composting#:~:text=Composting%20is%20the%20fifth%20tier%20of%20EPA's%20Food%20Recovery%20Hierarchy.&text=EPA%20estimates%20that%20in%202018,25%20million%20tons%20through%20composting.
Platt, Brenda. “Infographic: Compost Impacts More Than You Think.” Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2 Apr. 2019, ilsr.org/compost-impacts-infographic/.
